More Range Rover limited edition trims to debut in Indian mkt, says MD Martin Limpert

Source : PTI | India could see the introduction of more Range Rover limited edition trims, specially curated for the country, to cater to the diverse set of customers in the market, according to a top company executive. The brand is looking at enhancing its presence as it anticipates growth in the Indian market with the number of high-net-worth individuals expected to rise at a fast clip by the end of this decade.
In an interaction with PTI here, the global Managing Director of the Range Rover brand Martin Limpert said that with localisation to a certain extent, the brand has been able to offer products for customers seeking value for money.
Under its House of Brands positioning, Jaguar Land Rover plans to develop individual growth strategies for its four brands — Jaguar, Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender, each catering to a specific audience and retail landscape.
Range Rover has already announced the local manufacturing of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport in India.
“At the same time, we have launched, last year for the first time, a limited edition, just for the Indian market, with the Ranthambore Edition,” Limpert said.
Twelve cars, built with a local context, were sold within one week as customers liked the concept, he added.
“Customers appreciated the fact that we are building a context with the Indian market. We have that experience in other markets as well. So, we want to build more on this that we really build vehicles, either limited editions, small collector series for the Indian market,” Limpert stated.
“So yes, we want to build more variants and customer-specific vehicles for the market,” he added.
Limpert noted that the brand enjoys a great reputation in India.
“We want to build on this equity. We want to further sharpen that positioning as part of the House of Brands strategy for the next level of success in the Indian market,” he added.
He noted that the company recognises the fact that there is a big growth opportunity in the market.
“It’s a big market, obviously 1.5 plus billion people. I think 65 per cent of the people are younger than 35 so going forward, there’s an opportunity for us to grow with those people, the working population, the wealth that is increasing,” Limpert said.
The Indian economy is growing by 6-7 per cent annually, which is quite outstanding at the moment in the global context, he added.
“So, we see an opportunity in the market. How do we tap the opportunity, beyond building brand equity, to build a proposition that is attractive in the market. This is where we made the decisions of local manufacturing,” he stated.
And since the brand launched the locally manufactured products, sales increased by 2.5 times for Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, he added.
“So, we of course are investigating what should be our future strategy, we are understanding the growth opportunity in the market. We know the high net worth individuals which are around 9 lakh can grow to 12 lakh by the end of the decade. So, there’s a market for us,” Limpert said.
Being part of the Tata group should also help the brand move ahead in the country, he noted.
Source: worldautoforum.com